Bottlegourd N Peanut Curry

The bottle gourd is a common vegetable in India. It is yellowish green, having the shape of a bottle. It has white pulp, with white seeds in spongy flesh...Bottle gourd is not only rich in essential minerals, iron, protein and trace elements; it is also rich in fibre. The cooked vegetable is cooling, diuretic, sedative and anti­bilious. It gives a feeling of relaxation after eating it. In India, bottlegourd's woody shells serve as utensils and as sounding boxes for the sitar and ektara used by the bauls of Bengal....Bottle Gourd prevents excessive loss of sodium, quenches thirst and helps in preventing fatigue. This bottlegourd with peanut curry is one of the authentic village side dish, this curry is very much often prepared in my grandma's village for almost twice a week with fresh bottlegourd and roasted grounded peanuts...I just love this simple bottlegourd dish which tastes delicious with grounded peanut coarse paste.

2cups Bottlegourd pieces
1/4cup Raw peanuts
1/4tsp Mustard seeds
1/4tsp Urad dal
3nos Dry Red chillies (broken as pieces)
5nos Curry leaves
Salt
Oil

Heat enough oil and add mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and broken dry red chillies and let them fry, add immediately the bottlegourd pieces and stir with enough salt, meanwhile microwave peanuts for 2 minutes( arrange the raw peanuts as single layer in microwave plate), ground the roasted peanuts as coarse powder and keep aside...once the bottlegourd pieces gets well cooked add the coarse peanut powder and toss gently until the cooked veggies get well mixed..put off the stove..

Serve as side dish!!!

Microwave Carrot N Pistachio Chocolate Fudge

Fudge, my recent favourite quick and easy dessert...needless to say that am a chocoholic and anything with chocolate will surely goes directly to my favourite list...After making out almond chocolate fudge, i tried out this time again as chocolate fudge but with grated carrots and pistachio nuts for a change, initially i was quite freaky to try out this combination but anyhow i started preparing with very much confidence as ever whenever i prepare anything new...i cooked the grated carrot pieces with a tsp of butter until they turned tender and followed simply as i did for my MW Almond Fudge, also the cooking time took just 6 minutes in microwave...

1cup Grated carrot
1/2cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
1no Chocolate bar (chopped)
2tbsps Butter +1tsp Butter
1/4tsp Salt
1tsp Vanilla Essence
1/4cup Pistachio(chopped)

Cook the grated carrot in a microwave bowl with a tsp of butter for 3 minutes in high and keep aside...Take the condensed milk and butter in a large microwave bowl, cook in high for 1minute, mix both and add the chopped chocolate pieces, salt and vanilla essence, mix everything with a spatula and cook in high temperature for 2 minutes, take the bowl out from the oven and add the cooked grated carrot pieces, mix everything and keep again for a minute...

Meanwhile line a baking sheet r aluminim foil in a plate r baking pan..mix the chopped nuts, pour the fudge over the pan or plate, keep in fridge, let it set for half an hour..

Enjoy!!

Wattalappan ( Sri Lankan Spiced Coconut Custard)

Wattalappan, a Sri Lankan dessert prepared with palm sugar r jaggery, thick coconut milk, eggs with nutmeg and cardamom powder...i found this recipe while googling for sri lankan desserts..while reading the ingredients itself i got tempted and tried out this delicious steam cooked coconut custard. I prepared this custard with half jaggery and half packed brown sugar coz my family dont like much jaggery based desserts also i found while googling jaggery can be very well replaced with packed brown sugar completely anyhow i dont want to change the authentic dessert by making out this dessert completely with packed brown sugar, this delicious sri lankan dessert tastes amazing with spiced coconut flavour and very simple to prepare, they can be either prepared with steam cook r in microwave, the authentic wattalappan is prepared in small bowl like vessel and steam cooked for twenty minutes by simmering water..i prepared this coconut custard in pressure cooked for twenty minutes..They tastes divine when served chilled...This Sri Lankan dessert goes to AWED - Sri Lanka guest hosted by Siri, event started by DK, also goes to Srivalli's Mithai Mela...

1/2cup Jaggery ( grated)
3/4cup Packed Brown sugar
5nos Eggs
2cups Thick Coconut milk
1tsp Vanilla extract
1tsp Cardamom powder
1/4tsp Nutmeg powder
10nos Cashew nuts

Make a thick syrup with grated jaggery and water, strain the jaggery syrup and keep aside, beat together the thick coconut milk, jaggery sryup and brown sugar, beat until the sugar get well dissolved and keep aside..meawhile beat the eggs separately, gradually add the coconut milk-sugar mixture..beat for 5 minutes..finally add the cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, vanilla extract and cashew nuts..beat for a while..pour the coconut custard in small ramekins and cover it with grease proof paper....cook in pressure cooker as steam cook for 20 minutes..

Serve Chilled!

Bok Choy Stir-fry

Bok choy also known as snow cabbage is a chinese leaf vegetable quite used in chinese cuisine, this vegetable is related to our usual cabbages even they looks like turnips..as i am living in China town, my craving for our indian greens are very much replaced by these chinese greens leafy vegetables very much often, whenever i go to chinese stores usually i pick water spinach greens, bok choy and kailan leaves, which ressembles quite as our greens and very easy to cook also they suits prefect for our indian style of making out curries, stir fries etc...here is a simple stir fry with baby bokchoy i do often with simple ingredients...This healthy bokchoy stir fry goes to SWC-Cooking With Greens guest hosted by Sowmya of Creative Saga ...

2cups Bok Choy (chopped)
1no Onions (chopped)
1no Green chillies (chopped)
3nos Garlic cloves (minced)
1/4cup Mustard seeds
1/4tsp Urad dal
2nos Dry red chillies
2tbsp Grated coconut
Oil
Salt

Heat enough oil and add mustard seeds, urad dal and dry red chillies and let them splutters, add immediately the chopped onions, chopped green chillies, minced garlic pieces with enough salt and saute until the onions turns transculent.. add the chopped bok choy and saute until they turns tender, finally add the grated coconut and put off the stove..

Serve hot with rice as side dish!

On the way to FIC-Favourite guest hosted by CL, event started by Sunshinemom